Jasper Taylor
History and Philosophy of Education, 12:00PM
Music Education (Choral)
Essentialism and Progressivism
The first day I walked into my high school choir room, my choir teacher asked the
students to write down a list of 100 things that they wanted to accomplish before graduating
high school. As I began to write my list, several thoughts came to mind. I wanted to become
a better singer, composer of music, conductor of a choir, and travel internationally. I
remember the last day of high school, as I referred to the list that I had written four years
previously. I soon recognized that over 50 of the things that I had written were accomplished.
This specific activity influenced my life greatly, and gave me motivation to set goals and
accomplish them. As I prepare to become a teacher, I acknowledge a powerful teaching
philosophy at work: Progressivism. I too plan to use the Progressivism philosophy in my
classroom. I am also inspired to teach using the Essentialist philosophy. With these two
philosophies that stress the facts and relevance to the real world, I strongly believe that I can
become a Professional Influencing Lives.
As a music educator, I must teach the facts; Essentialism does just that. This teachercentered philosophy “strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of our civilization
through core courses in the traditional academic disciplines” (Sadker & Sadker, 2005). Music
is a core course because it is the creative culmination of all core courses. Music teaches math
by understanding the rhythmic sub-divisions of meter. Music teaches foreign languages,
because some songs are in French, German, and Italian. In fact a majority of basic music
notation is not in English. Music teaches science by way of acoustics and frequencies. Music
has numerous advantages that cannot be neglected, so its presence in a tradition academic
discipline is necessary. In this back-to-basics philosophy, it is important that I, the teacher,
serve as the intellectual and moral role model for students(Sadker & Sadker, 2005). An
example of essentialism in the classroom is to study a different great composer of music each
week. This list would include great musicians of the past such as Mozart, Beethoven, and
Bach. Every week I would prepare a presentation/lecture on a composer and present a test at
the end of the week testing their knowledge. This lecture would include topics such as the
composer’s life, music, and where their music is present today. This would be reverting back
to the basics so that they are culturally aware of these great composers who have had an
enormous impact on our society. There is also a list of 9 standards for music education from
the Music Educator National Conference that outlines the items that should be apart of any
music education curriculum. By teaching using the Essentialism philosophy I can make sure
that the basics are covered and a solid foundation will be laid.
Another philosophy that I strongly agree with is progressivism. Progressivism
“organizes schools around the concerns, curiosity, and real-world experiences of students”
(Sadker & Sadker, 2005). This philosophy is student centered and I feel that it is of the
utmost importance. When it comes to teaching music, I am a strong believer that even though
you are teaching the facts it is important that you make the facts relevant. The best way of
making it relevant is to find out about the student and his or her interests and proceed with the
back-to-basic lesson while incorporating their interests. A classroom activity that coincides
with the Progressivism philosophy would be for students to listen to a lecture on the topic of
rhythmic meter. Then have the students bring in some of their favorite music and discuss the
meter of their selected song. As I reminisce about my high-school experience, I remember
bringing in some of my favorite music and discussing all of the musical elements that we had
discussed over the semester that were present in my music. This was Progressivism at work.
My philosophy would be a hint of Progressivism dominated by Essentialism. Society
has taken a shift to what is relevant rather than what is important or essential. I, however,
advocate that it is imperative that the focus be re-shifted. The essentials must be taught first
and foremost, and then comes relevance. Seeking out the student’s interests only enhances
the essentials. By using this mixture of philosophies in my classroom, it is my prayer that I
become a Professional Influencing Lives.
References
Sadker, M. P., & Sadker, D. M. (2005). Teachers, schools, and society. New York: McGraw
Hill.
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy:
This paper should be about what you feel is right in teaching. After studying the different philosophies in
class, choose 2 you most identify with. This paper should reflect Professionals Influencing Lives. All
references must follow the Concise Rules of APA Style format. You must correctly reference your textbook
within the body of the paper and include a correct reference page.

Paper Format: 2 – 3 pages

Cover Page: your name, time of your EDUC 150 class, major, philosophies you have chosen

Body of paper: Times New Roman 12" font, 1" margins; use paragraphs when appropriate; doublespaced; do not have running headers or footers

First paragraph - introduction to your philosophy; includes discussion of the theme of ONU
Teacher Education, must include the phrase professionals influencing lives

Subsequent paragraphs - discuss your philosophy of teaching with reference to the 2 philosophies
you have chosen - these must be ones discussed in class.

Final paragraph – summary

Reference page: Title centered says References
[You might want to look at the two philosophy examples on the Blackboard site.]
Use the rubric to self-assess your teaching philosophy. Shade in the square to indicate the grade you think
you have earned. Attach it to your philosophy. If the rubric is not attached 10 points will be deducted from
your grade.
CONTENT 40
points
ORGANIZATION
20 points
F
C
B
A
Incomplete ideas
Unfocused
Lacks detail
No understanding of
content
Does not reference 2
philosophies.
Does not reference
the conceptual
framework.
Does not cite
textbook.
Few original ideas
Moves away from
focus
Few supporting
details
Content understood
vaguely
Vaguely references 2
philosophies.
Vaguely references
the conceptual
framework.
Incorrectly cites
textbook.
Some original ideas
Includes most
supporting details
Good understanding
of content
References 2
philosophies.
References the
conceptual
framework.
Original
Focuses on topic
Supporting details
Fully understand
content
Integrates references
for 2 philosophies.
Integrates reference
to the conceptual
framework.
Correctly cites
textbook.
Few ideas connected
Lacks
beginning/middle/end
Some connected
ideas
Attempts
Most ideas connected
Good
beginning/middle/end
Ideas connected
Strong
beginning/middle/end
Little sequence/logic
beginning/middle/end
Not always
sequenced/logical
Most ideas
sequenced/logical
Sequenced/logical
MECHANICS 20
points
Sentences not clear
Frequent fragmented
sentences
No variety
more than 4 errors
Incorrect APA
Some unclear
sentences
Run on/fragmented
sentences
No variety
3 - 4 errors
Most sentences
clearly written
Simple sentences
Some variety of
length
1 - 2 errors
LENGTH 10
points
Does not meet length
requirements
Meets length
requirements
FORMAT 10
points
Does not follow
format requirements
12" font, 1" margins
cover page
Clearly written
Complete sentences
Variety
NO errors
Correct APA